<p>Australia's Sally Pearson is finding her rhythm again after returning from a hamstring injury and is confident she is on track to defend her sprint hurdles title at the World Championships next month, the Olympic champion said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 26-year-old Queenslander suffered a hamstring tear in a 4x100M relay at the Asian Grand Prix Athletic Championship in Sri Lanka in May after missing the domestic season with the same injury.<br /><br />She made a winning return in the Czech Republic last month but lacked her usual speed between the barriers and was fourth in a strong 100 hurdles field at the IAAF Diamond League event in Birmingham on Sunday. "I can definitely run faster than what I did in Birmingham. I feel like my rhythm is starting to come back so that's a good thing, and anything around 12.6 would be nice," Pearson said in an Athletics Australia statement.<br /><br />"I haven't come into this season with too many expectations, but we have made some changes to my programming with a few extra races added to prepare for the World Championships and I'm confident the time will start to come down,’’ he added. <br /><br />The Diamond League event in Lausanne on Thursday will be her third stop before the World Championships in Moscow in August and Pearson said she had tried to stay patient.<br />"I'm surprised by how I am dealing with this situation, I thought I would be a lot more anxious than I am," she said. "I'm really happy and relaxed and that's probably because I have already done what I am trying to do this year.’’<br /><br />"I've won the world title, I've won the Olympic title and all I want now is the world record but I know that I would be asking too much of myself after the year so far,’’ she added. <br />"I'm being as patient as I can be, and that's not something that I am usually very good at. It would obviously be nice to go out into these races and win, but after two injuries and only two races I am doing quite well for where my season is at,’’ Pearson said. <br /><br />Pearson narrowly missed the podium in Birmingham but predicted it would not be too long before he is back to her best.<br /><br />"I was less that one tenth of a second from the win in Birmingham and those girls have been running for two months," she said.<br /><br />"After Sotteville (in France) on Monday I have a week to get some training in, then I will run again in Monaco before more training and a race in London.<br /><br />"There is still a few weeks to the World Championships after that and I think with good training and racing a suitable rhythm to get me onto the podium will come and it will be a matter of who is the best athlete on the day,’’ she added.</p>
<p>Australia's Sally Pearson is finding her rhythm again after returning from a hamstring injury and is confident she is on track to defend her sprint hurdles title at the World Championships next month, the Olympic champion said.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 26-year-old Queenslander suffered a hamstring tear in a 4x100M relay at the Asian Grand Prix Athletic Championship in Sri Lanka in May after missing the domestic season with the same injury.<br /><br />She made a winning return in the Czech Republic last month but lacked her usual speed between the barriers and was fourth in a strong 100 hurdles field at the IAAF Diamond League event in Birmingham on Sunday. "I can definitely run faster than what I did in Birmingham. I feel like my rhythm is starting to come back so that's a good thing, and anything around 12.6 would be nice," Pearson said in an Athletics Australia statement.<br /><br />"I haven't come into this season with too many expectations, but we have made some changes to my programming with a few extra races added to prepare for the World Championships and I'm confident the time will start to come down,’’ he added. <br /><br />The Diamond League event in Lausanne on Thursday will be her third stop before the World Championships in Moscow in August and Pearson said she had tried to stay patient.<br />"I'm surprised by how I am dealing with this situation, I thought I would be a lot more anxious than I am," she said. "I'm really happy and relaxed and that's probably because I have already done what I am trying to do this year.’’<br /><br />"I've won the world title, I've won the Olympic title and all I want now is the world record but I know that I would be asking too much of myself after the year so far,’’ she added. <br />"I'm being as patient as I can be, and that's not something that I am usually very good at. It would obviously be nice to go out into these races and win, but after two injuries and only two races I am doing quite well for where my season is at,’’ Pearson said. <br /><br />Pearson narrowly missed the podium in Birmingham but predicted it would not be too long before he is back to her best.<br /><br />"I was less that one tenth of a second from the win in Birmingham and those girls have been running for two months," she said.<br /><br />"After Sotteville (in France) on Monday I have a week to get some training in, then I will run again in Monaco before more training and a race in London.<br /><br />"There is still a few weeks to the World Championships after that and I think with good training and racing a suitable rhythm to get me onto the podium will come and it will be a matter of who is the best athlete on the day,’’ she added.</p>